A COLLEGE FARM 225 



we had seen farther south. But the clover was flower- 

 ing prematurely, and with the weather that followed 

 our visit we expect a good many men saved a light 

 crop of clover seed where they had meant to get a 

 good second cut of hay. As in Shropshire the lack of 

 lime in the soil sometimes causes the clovers to fail ; 

 speaking generally, Cheshire soils respond to liming as 

 also to dressings of salt, a fact which was recognized 

 more than a century ago. 



We turned a little aside to visit the Cheshire 

 Agricultural College at Holmes Chapel, the earliest 

 institution of its kind founded by a County Council 

 and still supported entirely by Cheshire, though it has 

 become affiliated to the Manchester University. The 

 farm was very typical of the district, only to be dis- 

 tinguished by a little better polish and a higher level 

 of production even in this intensively cultivated 

 district. Though we had seen better individual crops, 

 probably nowhere had the whole farm looked so well ; 

 the permanent grass was closely grazed, but still green 

 and affording a reasonable bite to the business-like 

 herd of deep-milking Shorthorns which is the pride of 

 the College authorities. This College seemed to give 

 special attention to making its students take their part 

 in the routine of the farm ; owing to the small size of 

 their holdings most Cheshire farmers have to be both 

 master and man, and the practical nature of the 

 training the College gives was being generally 

 appreciated throughout the county. Not that it lacked 

 criticism ; the Cheshire farmer is like any other North- 

 countryman, eager to denounce anything with which 

 he does not agree and to brand as nonsense whatever 

 he does not understand. It is a bracing discipline for 

 an institution, provided always its authorities have an 

 equal amount of courage to go their own way when 



